1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reading/recording apparatus such as a facsimile that integrally includes a recording portion for recording on a recording sheet and a reading portion for reading a document (original).
2. Related Background Art
FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional image reading/recording apparatus in a way that exemplifies a facsimile. Referring to FIG. 6, recording sheets P are stacked (loaded) on a recording sheet holding member (recording sheet tray) 303 and are fed on a sheet-by-sheet basis by a recording sheet feeding roller 304 and by an unillustrated separation mechanism into an apparatus body 300A of a facsimile 300. The recording sheets P fed into the apparatus body 300A are conveyed via a recording portion 306 by a conveying roller 305, and images are recorded on the recording sheets P by the recording portion 306. The image-recorded recording sheets P are discharged outside the apparatus body (in a direction indicated by an arrowhead B) by a sheet discharging roller 307.
On the other hand, documents (originals) D are placed on a document holding member (document tray) 308 and are set in a state of abutting on a wedge-like portion of a separation feeding portion constructed of a document feeding roller 309 and a separating piece 313. When the document feeding roller 309 is rotated upon an image reading command, in a plurality of documents staying at the wedge-like portion, only the document brought into contact with the feeding roller 309 is separated from other documents by dint of a frictional force and thus fed.
The separated-and-fed document D is conveyed by a conveying portion constructed of a document feeding roller 310 and a pressing roller 314 and by a sheet discharging portion constructed of a sheet discharging roller 312 and a pressing roller 315. Image information retained on the document D is read by the reading portion such as a contact image sensor 311 while being conveyed, and the document D is discharged outside (in a direction of an arrowhead A) the apparatus body 300A.
In the above-mentioned image reading/recording apparatus such as the facsimile that integrally includes the recording portion for recording on the recording sheet and the reading portion for reading the document, in the case of downsizing the apparatus in response to demands etc in the market, it is considered that a conveying path for the recording sheets and a conveying path for the documents (originals) are shared with each other. This path sharing scheme provides a configuration of removing the feeding roller and the sheet discharging roller used for conveying the document and also removing a drive motor for conveying the document. Such a configuration of the apparatus makes it possible to actualize downsizing of the image reading/recording apparatus the cost-down thereof.
In the image reading/recording apparatus including the common conveying path as described above, the recording sheet and the document guided to the common conveying path may be fed respectively by different separation feeding portions but are, it is desirable, fed by the same separation feeding portion for attaining the downsizing. Further, it is desirable that the reading sensor for reading the image information retained on the document be fixedly disposed on the common conveying path. In the case of fixedly disposing the reading sensor, however, it is desirable that the reading sensor be disposed anterior to (on an upstream side of) the common conveying roller (refer to, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H07-183990, hereinafter Patent document 1). The arrangement that the reading sensor is anterior to (on the upstream side of) the common conveying roller, makes it feasible to eliminate influence of an ink mist occurred when performing the recording operation and to prevent the image from being recorded onto a platen, which occurs when failing to feed the sheet.
According to the configuration disclosed in Patent document 1 given above, however, if the reading surface of the reading means and the white plate are contaminated with an ink mist occurred when performing the recording operation and with paper powder produced from the recording sheets and the documents, a user found it was hard to clean the contaminated portion. Further, if configured to enable the user to clean the reading surface and the white plate, such inconvenience arose that the apparatus configuration became complicated and was upsized, which brought about cost-up.